“Free Yourself” interview with Fire Tap Games – Game development, the past and the future

I don’t know if you guys still remember our interview with Hell Tap Entertainment, but back in the summer of 2016, we did an interview with Hell Tap about their upcoming 3D third-person post-apocalyptic action RPG “Post Brutal”. Well, guess what? Just recently Hell Tap informed us that they have launched an inside game division called “Fire Tap Games”, and right now they are very busy with the development of their upcoming puzzle game “Free Yourself” (the game is in development for Windows, MAC, iOS and Android).

That’s also why I thought that it would be a good idea to do an interview with Fire Tap Games =) Well, done and made 😉 Because I sorted out an interview with Fire Tap just a couple of days ago. Anyways, during the said interview we talked about everything from game development, “Free Yourself”, the past, the present to their plans for the future. So with that said, please enjoy my (our) interview with Fire Tap Games.

Fire Tap Games is a division of Hell Tap Entertainment LTD.

Robin TGGWe’re going to start off this interview by allowing you to introduce yourself to our readers. So, please go ahead and do so =)

Mel FTGHi everyone! I’m Mel Georgiou, programmer and designer here at Fire Tap Games, a small indie team of only 2 people.
Robin TGG
What could you tell us about Fire Tap Games? I mean, how did the studio come to be? (Where did it all start).

Mel FTGFire Tap Games is actually a brand of Hell Tap Entertainment LTD. Some of your readers may remember us from last year when you interviewed us about Post Brutal – a very different type of game to say the least!

After working on that project for several years, I wanted to try and design something completely different. I soon joined forces with graphics artist and co-designer Simon Duong to develop the Fire Tap brand.

“Free Yourself” is an upcoming puzzle game for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.

Robin TGG
How did you come up with the idea for “Free Yourself”? And what could you tell us about the game?

Mel FTGFree Yourself is a 2D, physics-based puzzle game set in a colourful universe of crazy robots and unusual worlds. After being captured by bots, you’ll need to toggle switches, cause explosions, move platforms, teleport through portals and even flip gravity upside down in order to shatter your robotic cage and basically… Free Yourself!

We wanted to create a puzzle game that would be accessible to practically everyone, where all interactions in the game would begin with a simple tap or click. We had also developed this great “FaceRoom” technology we were using in Post Brutal and thought it would be great to combine player customization with the puzzle genre – as far as we’re aware, that is relatively uncharted territory!

We designed the “Bots” to essentially act as the game’s mechanics. Some of these robots are friendly, such as the Switch Bot, which can activate platforms and open new paths. Other bots are quite the opposite, such as the Blade Bots and Lazer Bots, which pretty much do what their names imply!

The game soon evolved into something we feel is an original addition to the puzzle gaming scene. We’re proud to introduce “Free Yourself” to your readers!
Robin TGG
What was it that made you decide to make a family-friendly puzzle game?

Mel FTGBoth Simon and I have always enjoyed casual puzzle games in-between larger titles. We felt we had a few unique ideas to offer. We hope your readers agree!

There are three different worlds and +72 neat puzzles to be enjoyed in the full version of “Free Yourself”.

Robin TGG
Is it correct that “Free Yourself” is in development for PC (Windows and MAC), iOS and Android? If so, is there a chance that the game might end up on other formats in the future as well? (I bet that the game would do really well on the Nintendo Switch console).

Mel FTGThat’s right, we also have an experimental Linux version too! Right now we don’t have plans for additional platforms but we’re always looking at new opportunities. Watch this space!
Robin TGG
Did you guys go through a long creative process to pick the name and genre for “Free Yourself”? Or was the game (and the name) perhaps something that you’ve had in store for quite a while?

Mel FTGThose things evolved naturally in the design stage. We actually had the name “Free Yourself” on the first day of brainstorming and we pretty much built the entire game around that premise. I think it’s one of those rare occurrences in game design where everything lines up just right!
Robin TGGWhich games would you say have inspired “Free Yourself” the most?

These are the six different bots that you have to outsmart in the game.

Mel FTGThat’s always a difficult question to answer! We always liked the visuals from the Super Mario games, the simplicity from classics like angry birds and player customization from RPGs, although Post Brutal is the direct inspiration there. Free Yourself really does have an eclectic mix of influences which we feel gives it that certain uniqueness.

Robin TGGIf I’m not wrong now, the game is said to offer three worlds and 72 different puzzles right? That’s quite a lot of content to be enjoyed with no doubt. Even so, I couldn’t help to wonder if there will be a level editor for the game? If not, perhaps that’s something that you “might” add in later on?

Mel FTGWe’ve actually have never considered it! If Free Yourself garners a significant following on the desktop I think that would be an awesome addition to add! Go ahead and put that down as a “maybe”! =)
Robin TGG
Did you come up with the idea to allow players using their camera to become the main character in the game early on, or was that an idea that popped up during development? And I take it that PC-players will be able to use their webcam?

Mel FTGFaceRoom was a core feature of the game from day one. You’re also correct about the webcams for desktop users!

Robin TGGWhat would you say have been the hardest part of the development process of “Free Yourself” so far? And why?

Yep, you can actually put your face into the game. In other words, you could become the star of “Free Yourself” if you feel like it.

Mel FTGOh, without a doubt it’s designing those levels! The first ten were pretty easy to come up with but by the 72nd puzzle I was banging my head against a wall to try and stimulate new ideas – I wouldn’t recommend trying that at home!

In all seriousness, it’s actually what prompted us to include many more mechanics than we had originally planned for the game. We found to keep things interesting we had to introduce some new gameplay feature at least once every eight levels. By the time we had started developing the second World, we were designing the mechanics alongside the levels in realtime.
Robin TGG
Do you have any plans to show case “Free Yourself” at any Gaming events during this and next year? If so, which events will you be at?

Mel FTGWe don’t have any plans for events right now.

Robin TGGSince the popularity of virtual reality has grown quite a lot as of lately I feel like I have to ask you if you got any plans at all for a VR version of “Free Yourself”?

Do you have what it takes to play through +70 puzzles? Well, you will get a chance to find that one out once “Free Yourself” launches (which should be sometime in the near future).

Mel FTGWe haven’t really seen (or come up with) a good use for VR in “Free Yourself”. We do however have some top secret VR ideas we’re experimenting with in the labs. By labs, I’m of course referring to the PC we have in the corner! lol
Robin TGG
In the trailer for “Free Yourself” it says by the very end of the video that the game will be released soon. So does that mean late 2017 or early 2018 release?

Mel FTGWe now have a release date of Wednesday, 6th December 2017. We’ll be launching on the iOS App Store, Google Play and Amazon App store simultaneously.

Other mobile stores will be launched in the following week with the desktop versions coming sometime after that. We’re hoping we can release the Steam versions (Windows, Mac and Linux) by the end of the year but we don’t have an official date yet.
Robin TGG
What has the response and feedback been like so far for your game?

Mel FTG
We’ve already started our public beta and the feedback from our testers seems to be overwhelmingly positive. We’re hoping that stays a trend! =)

There “might” be a slight chance of seeing “Free Yourself” on other formats in the future (Nintendo Switch anyone?).

Robin TGGWhat are your plans, hopes and expectations for the rest of 2017? And what do you hope for during 2018?

Mel FTGWe’re focused on getting Free Yourself released on as many platforms as possible and to keep being passionate about the games we’re making. We hope to keep doing what we love for the foreseeable future!

Robin TGG
Is there anything else that you would like to add or say to our fans and readers?

Mel FTGThanks so much for taking the time to read about Free Yourself. We hope we’ve made the game sound interesting enough to try out. Give Free Yourself a spin – after all, it’s free!